


encore

by thir13enth



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thir13enth/pseuds/thir13enth
Summary: In the end, Felix Hugo Fraldarius is a basic man with a simple love for two things: swords and singing.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	encore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Harmonious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmonious/gifts).



> based on blamedorange's lovely art on twitter! my long friend from fandoms past — so happy our fandoms have converged again!

After spotting Felix slipping out from the back exit of the church after one of her vocal performances, Dorothea suddenly realizes that she has Felix completely figured out.

At heart, he isn’t at all an “mysterious and edgy” swordsman, with an on-brand dislike of anything remotely related to honor and tradition. In fact, Felix Hugo Fraldarius is just a simple man, weak for two things: swords and singing.

She sees right through him now. He’s weak for the human voice. It’s no wonder that he follows around Annette — and it’s no wonder that he’s started to follow _her_ now.

Not that she’s ever caught him in the act. But her senses are astute enough to pick up a soft rustle of leaves behind her or a cloud of lifted dirt off the ground around a building corner.

So the next time Dorothea’s senses tingle, she starts singing.

“In the courtyard, a sole voice sings… from the lips of a dark-haired girl! But who is that following behind her…”

Here, she turns around, cutting into regular speech. “Felix, no doubt!” she calls out.

Caught and accused, he simply stands there, shameless. “I was listening to you sing,” he states, crossing his arms.

She grants him a wide smile, stepping toward him so they stand eye to eye. “And what did you think of my singing?”

“You sing well,” he replies. He nods once, as if deferential.

“Oh, Felix!” she giggles with a snark, tapping his forearm playfully. “You _indulge_ me with all of your compliments! You’re too kind. Really. Much _much_ too kind. Charming.”

He doesn’t so much as smile, abruptly turning away to seeing himself out of the conversation.

“Wait a moment, Felix. Where are you going?” She catches his upper arm with her right hand, holding him in place. “We just got to chatting.”

He half-turns, glaring at her hand on his arm before meeting her with hard eyes. “I didn’t come to talk. I came to listen to you sing.”

“Oh,” she pouts. “Am I really of that little use to you? What if I was to start singing again? You wouldn’t know if you left now! You’d miss it!”

He doesn’t seem convinced, although his stance is now awkward, both ready to leave but also to stay.

“At least tell me how your day has been,” Dorothea persuades. An idea. “Maybe here’s what we’ll do — one of my songs for one your sentences.”

This nudges Felix’s heel a turn, his body now angled toward her, as if interested in her deal. “My day has been good,” he replies stiffly.

Half not-expecting him to take to her suggestion, she quickly finds a random set of chords for her words. “Just good?” she sings in melody. “What didn’t make it great?”

He looks at her weirdly, but he finishes the complete 180 turn to stand before her. “My day was… nothing special,” he explains. “Just a normal day. So, it was good.”

“Oh? Even though you got to hear me sing? You don’t think that’s special at all? Oh! I’m so sad! My singing must not be good at all!”

“I didn’t say that!” he blurts, voice raised. “I—” But then he cuts himself off, collecting himself. “My day has been great,” he revises, looking away from her.

Dorothea hides her smile when sees the dust of pink over his face. Felix is too predictable.

Another idea.

“Well, you know what? How about I turn your day from great to amazing?” she asks him. “I’ll give you a free singing lesson, how about it? I’ll sing and you can repeat after me.”

He swallows, a slow bob in his throat. “Me? Sing?” he says, a crack in his voice.

“Yes!” she says, growing more and more enthralled with her own idea. “I know you appreciate the human voice — you must listen to it enough to know what makes for a good one! Isn’t it about time you try singing yourself? Don’t you want to know how you sound?”

Having piqued her own curiosity, she knows that _she_ at least wants to know. Perhaps he’d have an average voice, but also perhaps he might have some real talent! What if he has a rich and resonant bass or a smooth and sauve baritone? What if he has a good ear for harmony? What if he has perfect pitch? Only one way to find out.

Felix looks like he’s about to flee, so Dorothea stands squarely, ready to she could stop him should he start running. She absolutely will not let this opportunity go.

She clears her throat. “Alright, how about we start with a simple scale?” she asks. She chooses to forgo any form of vocal warm-up — that would most definitely turn him away. With a scale lower than her normal comfortable range, she starts, “Do re mi…”

Felix blinks several times, as if struggling to get the notes out. Or to get himself to sing at all. The blush on his face grows deeper.

“You can do it…” she gently encourages, repeating the line again. “Do re mi…”

His voice comes out stuttering. “Do…”

He’s on pitch! She tries to contain her excitement and turns off her mind’s quick analysis of the note. She can’t judge off one nervous note, she reminds herself. Felix isn’t auditioning, she reminds herself.

“One more time, Felix,” she urges. “Do re me…”

He sighs exasperatedly, throwing his head back. “I can’t do this.”

“No, no, no! You can! You were singing just earlier!”

He looks at her, doubtful, and still with a healthy flush over his face. Eventually his jaw loosens, and he takes a breath. “Do…” and he clears his throat. “Do re mi…”

He is doing so well! Warm, her heart flutters —the exact same way it does teaching the youth choir to harmonize.

“Good!” she exclaims, encouraging him to go on. “Do re mi fa so…”

He doesn’t even consider it. He shakes his head. “No, I can’t.”

“Felix!” she groans. His stubbornness is as frustrating as avoiding Ferdinand’s advances. “You already sang three notes perfectly! Just add another two!”

He gives her a look that she can’t read, before he stares right at her eyes. Intense.

His voice is more confident this time around. “Do re mi fa so…”

Rough around the edges, but the potential for a clear and strong tone. A voice suited not for the opera but maybe for a solo performance with a guitar. Subdued. Not much control — but it’s probably because he’s not letting himself go.

She smiles. “You have such potential, Felix,” she tells him. “But I feel like you’re not _letting_ yourself sing. It still feels like your voice is trapped in your chest.” With this, she places her palms against his chest. “Let it out from here,” she says, leaning in. “That’ll make it sound more passionate!”

He looks at her with furrowed eyebrows. Still with his sharp eyes.

“Sometimes I think it helps if you close your eyes,” Dorothea suggests. “That way you completely forget your surroundings… and if that’s what is keeping you from singing your all, then not seeing anything at all will help you!”

Saying this, it’s suddenly adorable to think that Felix may potentially have stage fright — especially for as unconcerned about his image as he lets on.

All his tough, rude, and unlovable exterior — all a front, isn’t it?

Unreceptive, he holds his chin up, but nevertheless takes a slow breath in. On his exhale, his eyelids close slowly, fluttering as if his own body is resisting. He starts again.

“Do re mi fo so…”

Almost immediately, his eyes blink open. Ardent and fierce again. “What about now?”

“ _So_ much better,” she says, her smile growing wider. “You sing well, Felix.”

Unwilling to process the compliment, he holds a stiff frown on his face, but his eyes soften to a honey amber and… is that the slightest rise at the corner of his mouth?

Another idea — it seems she’s full of them today.

“In fact, I think you’d make a great singing partner,” she tells him. “What do you say about joining me later tonight? I’ll teach you a few songs and then we’ll try singing them together?”

Felix’s lips twist, conflicted. “Together?” he asks, in a small voice.

“Yes,” she affirms.

The gears in his head slowly turn. “Just… you and me?”

She can’t help the giggle that bubbles from within her. He asks this like it’s a first date.

Maybe it is.

“Oh, don’t worry,” she assures him. “I’ll make sure it’s a _private_ room.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked this piece! thank you for reading and please please send me the clips of how you imagine felix sings! 
> 
> twitter @ napsbeforesleep  
> discord @ ahumanintraining#2153


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